How to navigate change and uncertainty - RCS Commencement Speech 6/13/23

Below is a condensed version of the speech removing sections related to the gratitude and appreciation that do not make sense out of context. - Keith

Wow.

What an honor.?

In 1998, I was you.?

And, I started at Riverdale in first grade, much like some of you.?

If you told me 25 years later, I would be here speaking to the Class of 23, I would be speechless. I do not know if I would believe it. Personally, I am humbled. Thank you.?

As I thought about what I wanted to address today, I settled on the topic:?

How to navigate change and uncertainty.?

But when I thought about how to articulate that in a Commencement speech, I realized that I had no clue. So I figured if this was a speech about change and uncertainty, I would simply ask ChatGPT how to proceed!?

So I opened up my computer and typed in: “What is the best structure for a Commencement Speech” and here is what it told me …

FIRST. You need an introduction. Grab people’s attention. Start with a captivating opening line, personal anecdote, or an inspiring quotation and establish a connection.?

Hi! My name is Keith Grossman and I am the President of Enterprise at MoonPay, a Web3 Payments and Infrastructure company, and a Board Member of New York Cares and Griffin Cares. Previously, I was the President of TIME and prior to that was the Global Chief Revenue Officer at Bloomberg Media.?

I went to Cornell where I was a Government Major and can find an appropriate Winston Churchill quote for any occasion and will use one to end this speech!?

SECOND. ChatGPT suggested I “Establish a theme.” Which I agree - but now I feel as though I went out of order.?

The theme of this speech is “How to navigate change and uncertainty.”

So I will jump to THIRD: “Share Personal Insights or Stories.”??

My career has been defined by “Saves, Turnarounds and Evolutions.”?

I never had the professional luxury of stability. When I joined the Media Industry in 2002, it was the height of the dot.com bust and I joined … WIRED - a brand focused on Technology!?

On my very first day, I was informed that the CEO of Conde Nast had assured the team at WIRED the previous week that it was OK, that it would not close, but if you look back in history that assurance was empty. The reality was we were on our own and had to figure a way out of the mess we were in.

Everyday I came to work not knowing if the brand would survive.

Everyday I watched another technology brand go out of business.?

Everyday I watched more people lose their jobs.?

It was this exposure to the quote-on-quote “real world” that shaped my professional career and belief system. And, I quickly realized the following:?

• The only thing you can control is your own time; and, what you do with it.
• The best question you can repeatedly ask yourself is “Why?”
• And, love is the only commodity you cannot hoard; the more you hold onto it, the less you have, the more you put out into the world, the more you get in return.?

The last is a quote by Warren Buffett, however, it is a highly recommended way of operating through life.?

Personally, I can look at my career and realize it was shaped by only a handful of moments that were presented to me because of hard work, focus and grit.?

And, I specifically use the word GRIT because that is the title of Angela Duckworth’s incredible book and an underlying pillar of the Riverdale ethos:?

• Have a growth mindset.?
• Embrace curiosity.?

As for those moments, they only occurred because I was part of teams that asked, “Why?”

• Why wouldn’t digital media displace print media?
• Why would a consumer engage with a tablet or mobile device the same way they engage with other mediums?
• Why couldn’t data predict an outcome?
• Why is disinformation spreading on Social Media??
• Why would someone want to be an online “renter” when they could also be an online “owner?”

These five “Why’s” essentially defined my career at WIRED, Ars Technica, Bloomberg and TIME and led me to my current role at MoonPay.?

So what about YOU?

The education you received here at Riverdale is invaluable.?

Most institutions focus solely on teaching you knowledge and skills. Riverdale focuses on building character … and teaching you to THINK.

YOUR GOAL should be to define your own “Why’s” as you navigate the world. That is how Riverdale has set you up to succeed.

To be a thinker. A UNIQUE thinker. That is YOUR advantage.?

So, how do you navigate change and uncertainty??

Fortunately, this is ChatGPT’s FOURTH suggestion: Offer Words of Wisdom.?

So here we go:

First and foremost, ignore the extremism of the news.?

The way in which we have access and absorb information today is instantaneous. And, because of that, negative headlines will always dominate positive, boring realities.?

Please know this: I am not saying everything is good. Rather, seeing a disaster in your media feed garners far more attention.?

Think about that when you see headlines stating: “There is a chance AI ends humanity.” Or when AI is compared to the Atom Bomb, as Warren Buffett did the other day.?

Pause for a second and think about that.?

AI is the equivalent of the Atom Bomb.?

Did your mind envision a nuclear explosion? Or, did your mind envision safe, clean nuclear energy??

I am not saying it is one or the other - in fact, it has the potential to be both. All I am suggesting is that you do not believe “the hype.” Step back. Study the facts. Ask why. THINK.?

Second, the future - whether you want to believe it or not - IS defined by optimists.?

This is one of my favorite expressions by Kevin Kelly, who was one of the founders of WIRED.?

If the future was not defined by optimists, there is no future!?

Third, as new technologies gain mass adoption, ask yourself how you can work with them vs. how you can prevent them.?

ChatGPT may be assisting me with this speech but these are my thoughts, my words, my perspective.?

You may THINK you are graduating at a unique moment in time but consider this: Between 1879 and 1903, the light bulb, the automobile, the airplane and the telephone were all invented.?

Pause for a second and think about that.?

If an individual passed away in 1878, they left a world that was drastically different from the individual who was born in 1904. More changes took place in that 25 year history than one can conceive and TODAY we are at a similar moment of rapid change that will shape the way we all must adapt to the world as we know it.??

In 1993, we began to see the mass adoption of computing; in 2007, we saw social media and the iPhone; today we are seeing the emergence of blockchain, AI & GPT technologies and immersive experiences that span AR, VR and metaverses.?

Resisting the opportunities these technologies provide today is akin to the individual who resisted cars in favor of horses for transportation back in the early 1900s.?

The bigger issue will always be proper regulation of these technologies; not their existence.?

So ChatGPT says I now need to “Address the Graduates.”?

You all, as the graduating class of 2023, DO NOT know stability.?

But you have NEVER known stability.

You were born into a world just after the tragic events of September 11th, 2001.?

You have seen consistent chaos within the global financial systems.

You have witnessed wars and an increasingly evolving geopolitical landscape.?

You endured COVID.?

The Graduating Class of 2023 does NOT need a lecture on “How to navigate change and uncertainty.”

The Graduating Class of 2023 has LIVED change and uncertainty.?

Yet TODAY you are all here, about to embark on the next stage of your lives: Happy. Excited. Scared. Optimistic.?

The future is ultimately defined by optimists. That is YOU. Today.?

And my challenge to each of you is to SUSTAIN that optimism.?

Not just for the next four years but for the rest of your lives.

Look for the good … and thrive in the ambiguity you will face.?

As you are presented with challenges - and you will ALL inevitably be presented with challenges - ask yourself, “Why?”?

Riverdale taught you to think. And, I can assure you, the wrong answer will always be: “Because.”??

(By the way, those last few lines were suggested by ChatGPT. Quote: “Reflect on the future!”)

So now, ChatGPT is telling me to CONCLUDE.?

25 years ago, I was you.?

Today, I have the honor to share my thoughts on one of your most important occasions.

Thank you again.

I am humbled.?

Winston Churchill once said:?

Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.?

I wish you all success and happiness over the next four years and beyond.?

And, congratulations on this incredible day!??